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Venues

PLANNED PROJECTS

CommonWealth Project

Marriott Washington, D.C. Convention Center Hotel

Westin National Harbor

The National Museum of Crime & Punishment

W Washington, D.C.
 

RENOVATIONS

Mrs. K's Toll House Restaurant Wine Cellar

National Conference Center Ballroom

Marriott Wardman Park Hotel    

Four Seasons Hotel Washington            

The Palm
 

NEW RESTAURANTS

Asia Nine

Ici at the Sofitel

Park at Fourteenth

Hudson Restaurant and Lounge
 

NEW BARS & LOUNGES

Grand Central

Lotus

Napoleon
 

NEW HOTELS

Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

Hotel Monaco Alexandria, Jackson 20

Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport Hotel
 

NEW SPAS

Solarus Salon and Spa
 

NEW NIGHTCLUBS

Ibiza
 

NEW MUSEUMS

Newseum

Madame Tussauds
 
 

THE WALKTHROUGH

   05.08.08 3:16 PM

Chocolate Restaurant Finally Opening Monday; Event Space Coming Next
Co Co. Sala's dining space
Co Co. Sala's dining space
Photo: BizBash
Back in January, The Washington Post reported that a new Penn Quarter addition, Co Co. Sala, planned to open in time for Valentine's Day. Washingtonians waited patiently for the 130-seat restaurant, which is named for its function as a cocktail and chocolate lounge. (Sala translates to lounge in several languages.) Now, almost three months later, the spot will officially open May 12.

A partnership between pastry chef Nisha Sidhu and Bharet Malhotra of event management company Cvent Inc., the venture includes an ambitious design, which took more time than expected. The major delay: Cohiba labrador gray granite shipped in from Italy for the space's countertops arrived in late March and took three weeks to install.

Dubbed by Malhotra as a "fine-dining lounge," the venue is luxe looking, awash in shades of chocolate brown, with Italian porcelain tiled floors, an undulating ceiling, and faux emu leather chairs. The Co Co. Sala logo in one entrance (there are two, with one leading to the evening dining area and the other connected to the lunch and breakfast space) features fine red silk captured between two panes of glass. READ MORE

THE WALKTHROUGH

   05.01.08 5:44 PM

Asia Nine Sets Up Shop in Penn Quarter
Asia Nine's main dining room
Asia Nine's main dining room
Photo: BizBash
Asia Nine Bar and Lounge is one of the latest additions to the booming Penn Quarter restaurant scene. Billed as an Asian fusion restaurant, the 3,500-square-foot space—named for its 9th Street location—features an upstairs private dining room and a contemporary decor scheme (think brightly colored walls, funky chandeliers, and large-scale Asian art).

The 200-seat restaurant can accommodate 400 guests for receptions, has its own sound system, and can install a dance floor if needed. The raised sushi bar seats 60, while the bar and lounge—with red leather booths and metal water features on the walls—holds 50 people. READ MORE

VENUE NEWS

   04.24.08 2:25 PM

Hank's Owners Bringing British Pub to Columbia Heights
The ever-expanding Columbia Heights neighborhood is getting a British-inspired restaurant from the partners behind Hank’s Oyster Bar this summer. Slated for a late July opening, Jamie Leeds's and Sandy Lewis’s CommonWealth, in the Highland Park building on Irving Street, will be an English pub.

With 150 seats, a 30-seat private dining room, and an outdoor patio, the restaurant will serve British classics such as bangers and mash, sticky toffee pudding, and, not surprisingly, fish and chips. READ MORE

RELATED TOPICS CommonWealth

THE WALKTHROUGH

   04.17.08 3:15 PM

Mrs. K's Restaurant Adds a Rustic Wine Cellar
The 16-seat chef's table at Mrs. K's Wine Press space
The 16-seat chef's table at Mrs. K's Wine Press space
Photo: Courtesy of Mrs. K's Toll House Restaurant
Earlier this year, Mrs. K's Toll House Restaurant in Silver Spring expanded its historic brick-and-stone basement to create a new space called the Wine Press. Set beneath the Tudor-style country inn and filled with Americana antiques and working fireplaces, the cellar adds 3,600 square feet and 94 seats to the restaurant, with an attached patio in the works.

The stone entrance may feel rustic (since, according to general manager Spiro Gioldasis, the restaurant is on the edge of the Appalachian mountains), but the atmosphere has a European flair, with custom-made wrought-iron fixtures and row upon row of the 600 wines on offer, 64 of which are available by the glass. READ MORE

VENUE NEWS

   04.10.08 11:36 AM

Sheraton Launching Large Expansion Project
On Monday, Sheraton announced its plans to open 54 hotels—that's 20,000 guest rooms—worldwide by 2009. This equates to a $2 billion investment in new North American properties, including hotels in Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C.

The push is an attempt on Starwood's part to revitalize the Sheraton brand. The announcement marks the first phase of a multi-year plan to spend an additional $1.3 billion renovating 100 U.S. hotels (roughly half of Sheraton's North American locations), including some 50,000 guest rooms and 100 lobbies.

Also on tap: New York City properties set to open in Brooklyn and TriBeCa in 2009.    —Courtney Thompson


RELATED TOPICS Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts

THE WALKTHROUGH

   04.08.08 4:28 PM

With Plenty of Event Space, Newseum (Finally) Ready to Open
The top floor of the Knight Conference Center offers a bird's-eye view of the Capitol. 
The top floor of the Knight Conference Center offers a bird's-eye view of the Capitol. 
Photo: Thomas Arledge for BizBash
Space isn’t an issue for the Newseum’s new 250,000-square-foot building, which officially opens on April 11, with seven floors of exhibitions (devoted to the history of news) and the two-tier Knight Conference Center. The location—on Pennsylvania Avenue across from the National Gallery of Art—and the connection to Wolfgang Puck’s catering company and on-site restaurant the Source has certainly helped the buzz, making the $450 million museum one of the most-anticipated new venues for D.C. this year.

The building's enormous glass front evokes the museum’s mission to be a “window on the world,” and the sleek, modern design offers countless sweeping views—among them, several window-wrapped meeting spaces and four large terraces that provide bird’s-eye views of the Capitol and the Mall. 

The focal point of the complex is the New York Times–Ochs-Sulzberger Family Great Hall of News, which features a 90-foot atrium with a hanging traffic helicopter, a 238-foot-long news zipper, and a 40- by 22-foot LED screen (live video of guests entering the venue can be projected here). The space can seat 350 or accommodate as many as 500 for a reception. READ MORE

THE WALKTHROUGH

   04.02.08 9:15 AM

Gaylord's National Harbor Offers Lots of Space and Waterfront Views
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center's glass-front exterior
Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center's glass-front exterior
Photo: J.C. Martins/FotoBriceno for BizBash
The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, of the much-anticipated National Harbor project in Prince George’s County, doesn’t officially open its doors until April 25. But with the first convention group set to arrive this week, a flurry of last-minute construction and finishing touches—including rolling out a large red carpet in the main lobby—are underway.

For the fourth in the Gaylord family of properties, this auspicious welcome will launch the 41-acre, convention-focused estate, which has already booked more than one million room reservations. The $865 million facility will also become the second-largest convention space in the Washington region, just behind the district’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center. READ MORE

RELATED TOPICS Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

THE WALKTHROUGH

   03.27.08 5:47 PM

Sofitel's New Bistro Offers Flexible Space With French Appeal
Ici has modern decor with red accents.
Ici has modern decor with red accents.
Photo: BizBash
The Sofitel Lafayette Square recently reopened its Cafe 15 space, with a new design and a new name: Ici (or here, in French). Modeled after a contemporary French bistro, the 1,200-square-foot restaurant pops with deep red (in the floral carpet and paintings on the walls) and black (in the seats and marble floors).

The staff uses words like simple and clean to describe the decor and layout, which offers a variety of seating options, from the tall red upholstered variety to short black leather and wood options. The design also mixes round and communal tables with flanking banquettes. A large bookshelf displaying wines and glass vases divides the room, while tall windows brighten the space during the day, with large curtains available for privacy. READ MORE

NEWS

   03.27.08 3:13 PM

Nationals Park Opens on Sunday
Sunday marks the inaugural game for the new 41,888-seat Nationals Park, with the Washington Nationals facing off against the Atlanta Braves. President Bush will throw out the first pitch at 8 p.m., but the gates will open at 3:30 to greet guests with “welcome home” rally towels and lots of performers, from jazz band Sheiks of Dixie to balloon artists and stiltwalkers. The pregame ceremonies will also include the official American flag unfurling and a flyover by F-16s from the National Guard.

As we told you here, the stadium is rental-ready, having already booked more than 50 events.    —Danielle O'Steen


RELATED TOPICS Nationals Park

NEWS

   03.21.08 2:33 PM

Ben's Chili Is This Week's Hotspot
The ever-bustling Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street is the place to be this week. According to the Reliable Source, on Wednesday the upcoming politico movie State of Play, which has spawned numerous sightings of (and blog entries about) Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, took over the historic hotspot. (Eight staffers were even recruited as extras.) And today, Mayor Adrian Fenty held a press conference there with Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten and Ben’s co-owner Nizam Ali, announcing a partnership to bring the chili to the new stadium, which we told you about last week.

With all this action, the restaurant might have to speed up its planned expansion to a 3,000-square-foot space next door, now set for the end of 2008 (as previously reported by the Examiner).    —Danielle O'Steen


RELATED TOPICS Ben's Chili Bowl
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